Pirates Rumors

Rosenthal On Rockies, Cain, Pirates

By Tim Dierkes | May 26, 2009 at 2:44pm CDT

Another column from Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports? Sure, why not.

The Rockies, 12 games out in the NL West, "appear headed for a selloff." Garrett Atkins isn't popular (although deep in today's chat, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggested there could be a match with the Cardinals), and Todd Helton is too pricey. But Brad Hawpe, who has $12MM coming to him from now through 2010, could be an appealing trade chip. Hawpe has a 2011 club option for $10MM, but he can void it if traded. Rosenthal likes the Rays; the Braves would also be a nice fit for Hawpe in my opinion.
Rosenthal believes it would be hard for the Giants to find a young slugger who would be equal value for Matt Cain, who can be controlled cheaply through 2011. We learned earlier this week that Cain is not being dangled.
The Pirates have no financial need to dump veteran contracts, an idea we've read in the past. They're getting calls on Jack Wilson, but teams are reluctant to take on all the $5.8MM he still has coming. They have the same problem for Adam LaRoche. And Rosenthal says the Bucs are "philosophically opposed to the idea of a low-revenue team sending money to a high-revenue team to secure better prospects in a trade, the way the Indians did last season when they moved third baseman Casey Blake to the Dodgers."

No Extension Offers For Pirates’ Veterans

By Tim Dierkes | May 25, 2009 at 9:19am CDT

According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have not approached Adam LaRoche, John Grabow, and Jack Wilson about contract extensions. All three are eligible for free agency after the season, and could be on the trading block in July. More details:

LaRoche, 29, is hitting .222/.309/.449 in 178 plate appearances while earning $7.05MM. He avoided his typical slow April but has been awful in May. It seems excessive for the Mets to rent him for two months, in my opinion.
Grabow, 30, has a 4.95 ERA in 20 innings while earning $2.3MM. He's not shutting down southpaws. The market may be weak for him.
Wilson, 31, is at .260/.294/.385 in 103 plate appearances. Kovacevic says the Pirates have not formally responded to Wilson's offer to renegotiate his $8.4MM 2010 club option at a lower rate. He'd make sense for a contender seeking a defensive upgrade at shortstop.

Odds & Ends: Draft, Iwamura, Mets

By Eddie Schmid | May 24, 2009 at 8:06pm CDT

Some links to tide you over this Memorial Day Eve:

John Sickels at Minor League Ball lists last year's starters who posted a Win Share over 10 alongside their draft origins. Last week, Future Redbirds advised against risking a first round pick on high school pitchers.
MLB.com has a fan Q&A up with Pirates GM Neal Huntington, who believes this year's draft is deep in pitching but thin on quality college position players.
Akinori Iwamura will probably hit the DL after he suffered a nasty collision in today's game and was carted off the field. Joe Maddon will have a look at internal options to fill in for now.
With the Mets hurting badly, Ken Davidoff at Newsday acknowledges GM Omar Minaya has his work cut out for him. With Jose Reyes' lingering tendinitis in his right knee and his injured backups, Davidoff thinks Minaya should get an appraisal on Bobby Crosby. Davidoff also thinks the Mets should "aggressively" go after the rehabbing Ben Sheets and at least discuss Erik Bedard with the M's, despite the Mets' top prospects sitting at lower levels.

Taking Stock Of The Pirates

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 23, 2009 at 12:40pm CDT

John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus catalogues a decade and a half of poor decisions by the Pirates in his latest column, up at ESPN.com. Some of the team's more memorable gaffes:

Releasing Tim Wakefield.
Signing Pat Meares to a four year $15MM deal that surprised even Meares.
Commiting nearly $10MM to Derek Bell, then claiming the deal sent "shock waves through baseball" during the same offseason that Alex Rodriguez signed for $252MM.
Giving Bronson Arroyo up on waivers only to have him return to Pittsburgh as an All-Star for the Reds and call the Pirates the "most inept organization in baseball."

But the Pirates have shed some contracts in recent years and appear poised to get younger and better under current GM Neal Huntington. After next year they have commitments to Paul Maholm, Nate McLouth, Ian Snell, Ryan Doumit and Pedro Alvarez, but no one else. They reportedly have a good chance of signing 16-year-old shortstop prospect Miguel Angel Sano and are considering top talent with the fourth overall pick that they hold in this year's draft.

So what's the verdict on the Pirates? They don't appear likely to end their streak of 16 straight losing seasons this year, but are they on the right track? Or do they need new direction? What moves have to take place for the Pirates to join the best teams in the NL Central?

Odds & Ends: Giles, Vlad, Bay

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 23, 2009 at 10:00am CDT

Links for your Memorial Day weekend…

Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Giants should concede the division to the Dodgers and build for the future.
Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle shows that Nolan Ryan's presence has strengthened the Rangers by making it easier for them to recruit the coaches and executives they need.
As Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, Brian Giles says he's "not even close" to being done. The right fielder's making $9MM this year and hitting .161 so far.
Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports that the Angels would like to have Vladimir Guerrero back next year, at the right price. One executive said Vlad could be looking at a contract worth $5-7MM per year, for no more than two years when he becomes a free agent after this season.
As Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald notes, Jason Bay is "driving up his value almost daily." McAdam says there are indications the Red Sox could re-start extension talks during the All-Star Break.
Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer looks back at the deal that would have sent Andy Pettitte to the Phillies a decade ago.
In an article for ESPN.com, John Perrotto argues that the Pirates have no one to blame but themselves for their futility.

Dodgers Complete Delwyn Young Trade?

By Steve Adams | May 22, 2009 at 5:34pm CDT

The Dodgers have acquired minor leaguer Eric Krebs from the Pirates as one of the players to be named later for Delwyn Young, according to Diamond Leung.

Krebs, 24, is a right-hander with a 4.86 ERA to go along with a 2-4 mark. He's posted a very nice 8.9 K/9 rate and has allowed just nine HR over 195.1 innings in his five minor league seasons, but has also posted an ugly 5.0 BB/9 to go along with those otherwise impressive numbers. He was a 16th round pick out of high school by the Buccos in the 2005 draft.

Leung doesn't mention any other players yet.

Odds & Ends: Sano, Kieschnick, Strasburg

By Brian Shephard | May 21, 2009 at 8:31pm CDT

A few links for Thursday night:

In a Q&A, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses the Pirates' chances of signing Dominican prospect Miguel Angel Sano, how they might replace Adam LaRoche at 1B if he is traded, and whether they might seek frontline starting pitching via trade.
Todd Coppernoll at Brewersfan.net has an interview with former major leaguer Brooks Kieschnick, the first player to hit a home run as a pitcher, a pinch hitter, and as a DH. This is a fascinating account of the rise and fall of a ballplayer. Key quote: "I knew my career was in trouble the minute the Cubs drafted me."
Jonathan Mayo at MLB.com makes his predictions for the top 10 picks in June's First-Year Player Draft. Not surprisingly, Stephen Strasburg tops the list.
Jim Callis at Baseball America says that Strasburg leaving Wednesday's game with back cramps is not cause for alarm.
Callis also offers his predictions for which players will fall in the draft due to signability concerns. He puts OF Donavan Tate, RHP Jacob Turner, and LHP Matthew Purke on the top of the list. Tate and Turner are Scott Boras clients and Purke is advised by Select Sports Group.

Jack Wilson-Yuniesky Betancourt Not Happening

By Tim Dierkes | May 21, 2009 at 2:33pm CDT

THURSDAY: Baker has an update: the Pirates find Betancourt too pricey. Baker is surprised by this, but it seems reasonable to me that they would not want to take on an additional $4MM+ for that kind of project.

MONDAY: According to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, the Pirates and Mariners have discussed swapping shortstops Jack Wilson and Yuniesky Betancourt. Let's break down the details.

Wilson, 31, is hitting .254/.289/.310 in 77 plate appearances this year; he missed time with a sprained finger. He's owed another $5.59MM this year plus a $600K buyout for 2010, for a total of about $6.2MM. He has a limited no-trade clause that applies to six teams. Wilson approached the Bucs in March about a possible extension. John Dewan of The Fielding Bible rated him as the third-best defensive shortstop in the game.
Betancourt, 27, is hitting .264/.290/.368 in 132 plate appearances this year. Earlier this month, manager Don Wakamatsu benched Betancourt to send him a message. In his book, Dewan rated Betancourt the fourth-worst defensive shortstop in baseball. Under his contract signed in April of 2007, Betancourt will earn $1.53MM more this year, $3MM in 2010, $4MM in 2011, and a $2MM buyout in 2012 for a total of about $10.5MM.
Given the $4.3MM difference in guaranteed money, I can't see why the Pirates would entertain a deal like this. Betancourt would be more appealing if he was not locked up. Even then, he's a project.

Pirates Claim Steven Jackson

By Tim Dierkes | May 18, 2009 at 4:03pm CDT

The Pirates have added another Yankees pitcher, claiming righty reliever Steven Jackson off waivers today according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Injured pitcher Jimmy Barthmaier was released to make room.

Jackson, 27, posted a 1.88 ERA in 14.3 Triple A innings this year. This is his third stint at that level. He'd joined the Yanks in the Randy Johnson-Arizona deal, and was the last remnant of that 2007 trade. Jackson works with a low-90s sinker, according to Baseball America.

Odds & Ends: Mets, Cubs, Astros

By Tim Dierkes | May 18, 2009 at 11:16am CDT

Links for Monday…

Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Baseball America's Jim Callis that the team's #10 overall draft pick will not be influenced by signability. MLB.com's Bill Ladson's source believes negotiations between Rizzo and Scott Boras for Stephen Strasburg will go well, given their past history.
Regarding Friday's call for MLBTR writers, I still have many applications to review. I will keep you updated here on the site.
McCovey Chronicles discusses The Jonathan Sanchez Paradox.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post names Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff, and Mark DeRosa as the most probable trade targets for the Mets if Carlos Delgado is out for an extended period of time. Check out MLBTR's discussion of this topic from Saturday. SI.com's Jon Heyman also weighed in today.
Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal has an update on progress made on the sale of the Cubs.
On Sunday, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that Freddy Sanchez's current contract clause will likely cause the Pirates to avoid vesting options in the future.
On June 1st, Alyson Footer will begin a new job working for the Astros. The new MLB.com beat writer will be Brian McTaggart, who covered the team for the Houston Chronicle.

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